Railway-tie and rail-joint



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' I ANTON -IIU'SI-IIIIAIVI', 0F BROWNSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-TIE AND RAIL-JOINT.

Application filed. December To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTON KUSHLAN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Ties and Rail-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

- The invention concerns railway ties and associated elements including a rail joint Structure.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view embodying features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the meeting ends of adjacent rails showing the tie in section and associated parts.

Fig. 3 is a plan view.

Fig. 4 is a detail View of a lock between a part of the tie and a wedge member of the rail joint. e

, Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the meet ing ends of adjacent rails with an electric bond connectin the rails. Fig. 6 is a per spective view 0 a wedge piece. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a latch for holding parts of the tie.

Referring to these drawings 1 indicates rails of standard pattern resting upon a cross tie member 2 of metal which is provided with an upwardly extending flange or jaw 3 fitting against the face of the rail web on the inside thereof. This cross tie member also has outer upstanding flanges or jaws 4,4 which, when the rails are seated at 5 with their flanges partly beneath the overhanging portion of the jaws 3, are spaced apart at some distance from the rails. In these spaces wedge pieces 6 are located, these fitting against filling pieces 7, which in turn fit agai st the vertical web of the rail. The pieces areinterlocked with the upstanding flanges 4:, 4, by ribs or tongues 8 on the pieces 6 fitting in vertical notches of grooves in the inner sides of said flanges or jaws 4:, 4'. The structure shown at the right of Fig. 1 occurs at the joint be-,

tween two rails and includes a permanent magnet member 9 attached to the filling piece or plate 7'. This magnetic portion 9 is in the form of a wedge-shaped vertically extending rib on the filling member 7 and this wedgemember is adapted to lit in a recess of the locking wedge 6, this recess being indicated at 6*. This wedge 6, like the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Nov, 30, 1920 4, 1919. Serial N0. 342,336.

' member fi before described, is provided with \a projecting rib or locking lug which enters a recess in the upstanding flange 4 and holds. this wedge against lon itudinal displacement. The wedge is hel against vertical' displacement because of the attraction of the magnet 9 in respect to which the wedge member acts as an armature. The filling piece 7 bridges the joint between two rails and it is held against displacement by projections 10 thereon fitting in openings 1n the web of the rail. In order to remove the wedge member 6 a special operating bar must be used which is thrust under this wedge member from the end and is adapted to absorb a portion of the effective magnetism of the magnet 9 by coming in contact therewith. It is only possible to release this wedge member by the use of this special implement, so that an unauthorized person will be prevented from withdrawing the wedge -member and tampering with the joint. The filling piece 7' has its pins 10 engaging the rails on opposite sides of the joint and thus it acts as a tie member for holding the two rails together.

As an additional means for retaining the wedge 6 against removal, I may employ-a ball-shaped lock 11, Fig. 4, which is seated in a socket in the face of the wedge 6 and also enters an elongated socket 12 in the upstanding flange 1. This ball is pressed by a spring 13 into locking position and unlocking can be efl'ected only by an authorized person who is provided with a hook-shaped implement adapted to be inserted in the small opening 1 1 so that the hook may be made to grasp the spring, retract it or compress it and thus allow the ball to enter the large opening 12 and free the wedge member 6 from restraint. The electric bond between the rails may be provided by a loopshaped member 15 and to accommodate this member the flange 3 may be provided with a recess, as shown at 16 in Fig. 1. Further a bond may be provided between the bases or flanges of the rails by an S-shaped wire 17 arranged in a recess 18 formed in the adjacent ends of the rail as shown in Fig. 5. The cross tie member 2 is supported upon a base made up of concrete in-part and in part of metal. The metal portion is indicated at 19, this being recessed on its underside or having downturned flanges at 20, the underside of this member being filled with conber 2 so as to provide a resilient road bed for the railway cars. The cross tie member 2 is provided with downturned flanges 24 embracing the member 19 whereby the mam cross tie member is held against displacement in all directions horizontally. A guide connection ma be used between the main cross tie mem er and the intermediate or base member 19 consisting of pins 25 passing through the slots 26. The main cross tie member may also be connected with its base by a central pin or bolt 27 suitably held in the base and extending through the upper cross tie member, a connection by a pin and eye being provided at 28.

I also provide means whereby a signal will be produced should a locomotive or train be switched on to the track in the wrong direction. This consists of an arm or switch lever 30 pivoted at 31 near the inner face of the upstanding flange or jaw 4, the said lever having a finger or arm 32 which, when the lever is depressed in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, will make contact like a knife switch with the spring plates 33. The lever is thrown in the direction of the arrow by a part on the locomotive striking the upper end 30' of the lever which is pivoted to the main portion at 30 and bears against a stop flange or wall 30 so that it will move as one with the lever in the arrow'direction but if struck by a locomotive or part thereon moving in the opposite direction the upper end of the lever will yield and allow the locomotive to pass without effect. The closing of the circuit between the finger 32 and the contacts 33 may be in respect to a local circuit of which the battery is indicated in diagram at m, Fig. 3, or in respect to a power house circuit, the source of electrical energy being the part 3] of said figure. A signal lamp is indicated at A and a recess for receiving a torpedo is indicated at B. When the circuit is closed the torpedo will be fired and also thelsignal lamp will be lighted as the circuit connections are suitably provided for this urpose. The power house circuit and the coal circuit are-preferably both provided so that in case of failure of one the other will be effective. The signal lamps may be located along the track in advance .of the electric switch mechanism 32, 33, so

that the lighting of the lamps can be seen by the driver of the locomotive who will then realize that he has been switched on to the wrong track. These may be located from station to station or in the block houses or other places and a plurality of torpedoes may be used disposed at dlfierent places along the road.

The member 9 performs a mechanical function in holding the parts against dis-' placement, and this function may be performed alone by it, the mechanical means being relied on to hold the wed e member in place, and instead of the bal look any other suitable form of lock may be used.

The same joint may be used on curved as well as straight tracks.

The concrete base may be made in sections as shown in Fig. l to facilitate handling and these may have inclined joints so that the center section will support the end sections.

It will be noticed that the entire construction can be used without bolts or nuts if desired.

The torpedo isprovided with a projecting pin a which by contacting with one of the electric contacts will receive current therefrom to ignite the explosive.

The wedge piece Wlll act as the keeper for the magnet. or may serve as the magnet.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with the rails, a cross tie, a filling piece to fit between the head and base flan e of the rail and having means to engage a jacent rails, a wedge member for holding the filling piece in position and a flange on the cross tie interlocked with the wedge member and holding said wedge member against longitudinal displacement but allowing vertical removal of said wedge member, and means for holding the wedge member down to its seat against vertical displacement from between the flange and the fillin piece, substantially as described.

2. n combination with the rails, a cross tie havin an upwardly extending jaw 01' flange, a lling piece having pins to engage adjacent rails and having a vertically extending lug or rib, a member fitting down between the filling piece and the jaw and havin a recess to receive the rib of the filling piece and having projections fitting recesses in the jaw, sald member being removable upwardly, and means for holding said member in position, substantially as described.

3. In connection with claim 2 makin the rib on the filling piece magnetic to hol the locking member in position, substantially as described.

4. In connection with the features of claim 2, the locking means between the aw and the upwardly removable member, substantially as described.

5. In combination a cross tie having an upwardly extending jaw, a filling piece fitting against the rail, a Wedge member between the filling piece and the jaw and a ball lock between the wedge member and the jaw, said ball being pressed by a spring into locking position and a keyway or opening for the introduction of an instrument to release the lock, substantially as described.

6. In combination with a cross tie, a foundation made in sections with the end sections all in the same horizontal plane overlapping the middle section to be partly supported thereon substantially as described.

7. In combination, a cross tie havin the upstanding jaw. 3 and the upstanding filings '4 to receive the rail between them, a fillin piece fitting between the head and flange o the rail, and a wedge piece fittin between the flange 4 and the rail, said fil ing piece tially as described.

and wed ebein held to etherma etically, substanti ally as describe d. gn

8. In combination, a cross tie havin an upstanding jaw 3 to fit between the ead and flange of the rail an upstanding flange 4 spaced apart from the rail and lying upon the opposite side of the rail from that upon which the jaw is located, a filling piece occupying the space between the head and flange of the rail, and a wedge member 6 between the filling piece and the said flange 4, and held against longitudinal displacement, and removable upwardly from between said filling piece and the ange, substanature.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si KUSH AN.

ANTON 

